July 28: Liberty Leading the People | artble.com July 28: Liberty Leading the People July 28: Liberty Leading the People July 28: Liberty Leading the People Date of Creation: July 28, 1830, Liberty on the Barricades Height (cm): July 28: Liberty Leading the People Story / Theme Delacroix writing to his brother: "I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have fought for my country, at least I shall have painted for her. It has restored my good spirits." July 28: Liberty Leading the People Eugene Delacroix Charles X Through July 28: Liberty Leading the People, Delacroix tells the story of Trois Glorieuses - Three Glorious Days - the Parisian uprising on July 27, 28, and 29 of 1830. The liberal republicans were outraged by the violation of the Constitution, and overthrew Charles X, who was to be the last Bourbon king of France. His predecessor was Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orleans.

In this artwork Liberty is personified in the form of a vibrant, rebellious, bare breasted woman who leads the people to victory. She carries the flag proudly. Thrilled to have a modern subject to paint, Delacroix took to the canvas with great pride and patriotism. Though he had not taken an active part in the fighting of the revolution he had done his share for his country. Instead of guns and cannons he used an easel and a paintbrush - he felt it was his duty as a painter to record this event as the revolutionists felt it was their duty to fight. The artist was touched by the three days of revolt by the upper-class, the middle-class, and the lower-class in France all fighting to overthrow Charles X to show their outrage of the violation of the constitution and thus he paid honor to this event by providing a historical recount of French history. July 28: Liberty Leading the People is one of his most remembered and favored works today.

July 28: Liberty Leading the People Analysis July 28: Liberty Leading the People Eugene Delacroix July 28: Liberty Leading the People Critical Reception July 28: Liberty Leading the People Eugene Delacroix Musée du Luxembourg Paris It comes as no surprise that July 28: Liberty Leading the People, as most works of genius, was rejected by contemporary critics. As it was hidden from public view until the year of Eugene Delacroix's death, it wasn't until afterward that the painting received positive reflections from critics. Contemporary reception: July 28: Liberty Leading the People was not available for public viewing during the king's reign. Critics failed to respond to this innovative work, accustomed to a more classical representation of reality. Delacroix's mix of reality with allegory, actuality and fiction, symbolism and documentary proved too advanced and imaginative for them. Posthumous reception: July 28: Liberty Leading the People entered the Musée du Luxembourg in 1863, the same year that Delacroix died. It was moved to the Louvre 11 years later.

The response to the work was slightly more favorable after being relocated but it didn't receive the credit it duly deserved until much later on. Modern day reception: Critics of today perceive July 28: Liberty Leading the People as a masterpiece and a universal work. They admire the Romantic historical painting and appreciate Delacroix's unique take on this historical landmark. July 28: Liberty Leading the People Related Paintings Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), 1886: It is said that the Statue of Liberty was inspired by Delacroix's very own personified character of Liberty in his July 28: Liberty Leading the People. A gift from France to New York City, the Statue of Liberty was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and was constructed just 50 years after Delacroix's masterpiece. The statue, with a raised right arm holds a torch proudly, very similar to the pose in which Liberty holds the French flag. July 28: Liberty Leading the People Locations Through Time - Notable Sales Musée du Louvre Paris July 28: Liberty Leading the People was purchased by the French government in 1831.

Its intention was to display the painting in the throne room of the Palais du Luxembourg as a reminder of the July Revolution and how the "citizen king," Louis-Philippe had come to power. Instead the painting decorated the walls of the Palace museum before being taken down because of its political message just a few months later. It was exhibited in 1848 and then again at the Salon of 1855 before being transferred to the Louvre in 1874. July 28: Liberty Leading the People Artist Paul Cezanne It was important to Eugene Delacroix to paint historical subject matter, whether it was from the ancient past or a more recent occurrence. As the Parisian uprising of July 1830 was a poignant event in Parisian history, Delacroix worked quickly to pay his homage to this life changing event. He painted July 28: Liberty Leading the People at the age of 32. After developing the plan for the painting by preliminary sketches, he completed the work in just three months. It was finished in November of 1830 and exhibited at the Salon in May of 1831.

Delacroix believed that although he did not actively participate in the actual fighting, he had done his duty for his country by painting July 28: Liberty Leading the People. Known as a "master of color," Delacroix became a pupil of the English Romantic landscapists and extracted from their techniques, to develop a unique and memorable approach to color. The impact of literature and both historical and contemporary events, coupled with his innate artistic technique created an explosive viewing experience on canvas, as seen in July 28: Liberty Leading the People. Delacroix's work changed the art world forever and his technique had a lasting impact on the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements such as van Gogh and Cezanne . Today, he is remembered as one of the world's most influential French Romantic painters and his expertise and genius is fully recognized and appreciated by modern day art critics. July 28: Liberty Leading the People Art Period Peter Paul Rubens Romanticism is sometimes viewed as a reaction to its more serious predecessor, the Neoclassical movement.

As Neoclassical artists focused on properly accounting history through close attention to detail, Romantic artists flirted with themes of man's self glorification, man's part in nature, divinity found in nature, and emotion. Romanticism emphasizes the individual sense of self, creativity, imagination, and the value of art to make a statement. This emphasis on the individual is reflected in the ideas of self-realization through the act of contemplating nature. There is the idea that the individual can only directly understand nature, free from society. Peace and salvation come through the individual rather than through political movements. Romantic painters like Delacroix were part of a complex multimedia philosophical movement, involving the literary, visual, and intellectual arts. Eugene Delacroix fine-tuned Romanticism, incorporating the influences of great masters such as Michelangelo and Peter Paul Rubens. He developed his own personal style, with an affinity for showing pain and suffering in his work through brightly colored canvases. July 28: Liberty Leading the People Bibliography To find out more about Delacroix and his work please refer to the recommended reading list below. • Bussy, Dorothy. Eugene Delacroix.

BiblioBazaar, 2009 • Gombrich, E. H. The Story of Art. Phaidon Press Limited, 1995 • Jobert, Barthélémy. Delacroix. Princeton University Press, 1997 • Johnson, Dorothy. David to Delacroix: The Rise of Romantic Mythology (Bettie Allison Rand Lectures in Art History). The University of North Carolina Press, 2011 • Johnson, Lee. Delacroix. New York Press, 1963 • Kauffman, Jean-Paul. Wrestling with the Angel: The Mystery of Delacroix's Mural. The Harvill Press, 2003 • Noon, Patrick, et al. Crossing the Channel: British and French Painting in the Age of Romanticism. Tate Publishing, 2003 • Prideaux, Tom. The World of Delacroix: 1798-1863. Time Life Education, 1966 Want a Printed Poster or Replica?

Famous Paintings: Liberty Leading the People, 1830 Famous Paintings: Liberty Leading the People, 1830 Tweet One of the most famous paintings by Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People is best understood by recalling Western art history in the first half of the 19th century. At that time, the history of painting was an ongoing dialogue between two of its most famous painters: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1781-1867), and Eugene Delacroix (1789-1863). Their rivalry centered on the supremacy of line and draftsmanship, championed by Ingres, versus that of color, advocated by his rival. This echoed the 17th century debate between the Poussinists and Rubenists. The Poussinists championed academism and the superiority of drawing, while the Rubenists felt that color and its expressive potential were most significant. In the hands of these famous painters, this debate became Classicism versus Romanticism. Today, art history considers Delacroix the father of French Romantic painting. Eugene Delacroix. Self Portrait. Oil on canvas, ca. 1837.

Louvre, Paris. To right. Although his classical education at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Delacoix's passion was not in the academic; rather, he opted to capture moments of extreme emotion in his paintings. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Liberty Leading the People, 1830. Historical Events Surrounding Liberty Leading the People Liberty was painted in the aftermath of Paris' "Three Glorious Days" of July 27-29, 1830, when a widespread revolt overthrew the regime of Charles X of France. The impetus for the rebellion was Charles X's plan to reinstate systems of pre-Revolutionary France, which included: pledging one billion francs in an impoverished country to the aristocracy in reparations for property lost during the Revolution; abolishing free press and the legislature; and curtailing suffrage rights. Three days later on July 27th, fighting broke out - not far from the artist's studio - between Parisians and the king's mercenaries. Liberty is a prime example of why and how famous paintings are best understood by exploring their political and social contexts. How so? Liberty Leading the People, 1830.

Oil on canvas, approx. 8'6" by 10'8". Louvre, Paris. The Hats This seemingly minor detail conveys a crucial aspect of what is being communicated in Liberty Leading the People -- except for the monarchy, all social classes participated in the revolt, as telegraphed by the hats worn by the fighters. The factory worker with an uplifted saber (on the left) sports the hat typical of his class; next to Liberty is a young man waving two pistols and wearing the black beret traditionally donned by university students. And so it is with top hats and cloth hats. But Liberty herself steals the show. Not only is she a symbol of bravery, persistence, and leadership, but she reminds viewers that women played an indispensable role in the events of July 1830. With a Greek profile and exposed breasts, she is reminiscent of ancient statuary, an allegory of revolution set in a realistic battle scene. She, too, wears a hat; her Phrygian cap was a widely recognized symbol of liberty during the French Revolution. She grasps a musket in one hand and the new Tricolor in the other.

This flag was adopted by the new monarchy to supersede the white flag of the Bourbons. Repetition of the Tricolor - on the Notre Dame towers in the distant and on end of a pike at the left - conveys hope hat this new regime won't revert to pre-Revolutionary France. Within the subdued palette of Liberty, the saturated hues of the flag are a riveting exception; its colors are echoed in the blue pants legs, socks and jacket, and in the red sash and blood stains of the downed fighters. The Aftermath By 3 August 1830, the uprising was successful: Charles X abdicated and went into exile. The 1831 Salon, though, didn't consider Liberty to be a succesful painting. Critics sniped that Liberty herself looked like a working class woman, a fishwife, or perhaps even a harlot. Worse still, the dramatic energy and proletarian power captured in this painting were deemed so incendiary and dangerous that this masterpiece was hidden from public view until 1855.

Now, Liberty is justifiably considered one of the most famous paintings by Delacroix, with its use on French bills and postage stamps (left) attesting to its status as an icon of French culture and art history. Explore some Ingres paintings to see how a radically different style. And investigate some Jacques Louis David paintings, which offer a visual chronicle of the French Revolution. See how engaging art history can be when told a certain way? That's what Masterpiece Cards is all about! This boxed set of 250 art history cards offers: facts about and stories behind famous paintings a checklist of must-see masterpieces in US and European art museums highlights from over five centuries of art history. See sample Masterpiece Cards -- there's nothing like them, we promise. And stay in touch by joining this blog for weekly-ish articles like this one. Eugene Delacroix: Romantic History Painter The Death of Sardanapalus (1827) Louvre, Paris. See also: Best Artists of All Time .

Biography Arguably the most influential artist of the 19th century, and undoubtedly one of the best history painters of the modern era in French painting , Eugene Delacroix was also the leading figure in the French Romanticism art movement. With images created solely out of glowing colour , he deviated from the "official" style of neoclassical academic art as embodied by J.A.D.Ingres. Furthermore, his passionate brushwork had a significant impact on the style of Impressionism , and his experimentation with exotic subject matter inspired exponents in the Symbolism movement. He was influenced early in his career by French Romantic artists like Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) and Theodore Gericault (1791-1824), as well as English landscapists such as John Constable (1776-1837) and Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-28), and portraitists like William Hogarth.

His best-known works include The Massacre at Chios (1824, Louvre), The Death of Sardanapalus (1827, Louvre), and Liberty Leading the People (1830, Louvre, Paris). In addition to his easel art, which included portraiture, landscapes and still lifes, Delacroix was a master of mural painting , as exemplified by the central ceiling of the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre. The Women of Algiers in their Apartment (1834) Best Genre Painters . Origins Born at Charenton, near Paris in 1798 it is believed his father was infertile, and his real father may have been the renowned diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who was later to become Prime Minister of France. Delacroix certainly resembled Talleyrand in looks and character, and Talleyrand went on to protect the artist throughout his career. Delacroix was educated at the Lycee Louis-le-Grand, where he learned the classics and won awards for drawing. His uncle, impressed with his drawing , encouraged him to study art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts , in Paris.

Early Career In 1815 he entered the studio of artist Pierre-Narcisse Guerin, whose neoclassical painting was in the style of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). His early works from this period show influences of Raphael and Rubens, in colour and style, which can be seen in two works of religious art , The Virgin of the Harvest (1819, Orcement Church) and The Virgin of the Sacred Heart (1821, Ajaccio Cathedral). Around this time, he befriended the artist Theodore Gericault, and the populist Paul Delaroche (1797-1856), two other leading members of the Romantic movement in Paris. It was Gericault's famous work, the Raft of the Medusa (1819, Louvre) that inspired Delacroix to produce his first major painting: Dante and Virgil in Limbo (1822, Louvre). This painting was accepted by the Paris Salon in 1822 but widely condemned by the public.

However, two years later, at the 1824 Salon, he received public acclaim for his work The Massacre at Chios (1824, Louvre). This large painting, inspired by the struggle of the Greeks against the Turks, proclaimed his affinity with the Romantic - as opposed to the Classical - painters, who were then grouped around J.A.D.Ingres (1780-1867), who was himself showing The Vow of Louis XIII (1824, Montauban Cathedral). Delacroix, despite his misgivings, found himself regarded inside the French Academy as the leader of the Romantic school. Visits England: Inspired By Shakespeare and Goethe Delacroix spent the summer of 1825 in England, where - being already knowledgable about the work of John Constable and Richard Parkes Bonington - he studied the works of other artists, and used his skill in lithography to illustrate works by Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare and Lord Byron.

In fact, motifs from Shakespearean plays proved a fruitful source of inspiration until the end of his life: see, for instance, paintings like Cleopatra and the Peasant (1839, William Acland Memorial Art Centre); Hamlet (1839, Louvre); Desdemona Cursed by her Father (1852, Reims Museum). It was in London, too, that he unearthed another source of dramatic subjects when he went to an opera inspired by Goethe's Faust; the series of 17 lithographs that he made the following year brought warm praise from Goethe himself. The Death of Sardanapalus On his return to France Delacroix (inspired by Byron's tragedy Sardanapalus) painted his great romantic work, The Death of Sardanapalus (1827, Louvre), depicting the defeated Assyrian King who watches impassively as his servants, concubines and animals are slaughtered on his order. The painting is both gruesome and beautiful, it is graphic in its scenes of death but beautiful in its sensuous use of colour.

Exhibited at the Salon of 1827, the boldness of this work aroused violent opposition from the critics. While working assiduously on portrait art as well as literary subjects - see Assassination of the Bishop of Liege (1831, Louvre) - and history painting - such as Battle of Poitiers (1830, Louvre) and Battle of Nancy (1831, Musee de Nancy) - Delacroix was leading a particularly active social life, meeting people like Stendhal, Merimee and Dumas in the Parisian salons. It was in these circles that he made the acquaintance of the author George Sand, to whom he took such a liking and whom he painted standing behind Chopin as he improvised at the piano (Portrait of Frederic Chopin 1838, Louvre). Liberty Leading the People Around this time be also painted Liberty Leading the People (1830, Louvre). The latter is probably Delacroix's best known oil painting , and depicts Parisians taking up arms with the Tricolour flag representing liberty and freedom in an echo of the Revolution of 1830.

The Government bought the painting but soon removed it from public view, deeming it too inflammatory. The work confirmed him as the successor of Gros and Gericault, but with a deeper register. Gifted with a powerful sense of the heroic, in this masterpiece Delacroix converts historical fact into an epic. Orientalism - Morocco In 1832 he spent 6 months in Morocco on attachment to the French Embassy. Thanks to the sketchbooks that he kept (two in the Louvre, one in Chantilly) and to his letters, we can follow almost day by day his journey through Morocco, Algiers and Spain, which to Delacroix was a revelation not only of classical antiquity, but also of the magic of colour and light. Indeed, the colours, life and customs of the locals fascinated him, and went on to inspire works such as Women of Algiers (1834, Louvre), The Fanatics of Tangier (1837, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts), Jewish Wedding in Morocco (1841, Louvre), and The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage (1845, Musee des Augustins, Toulouse).

His colourful style of orientalist painting was well received at the Salon, and Delacroix became renowned for his ability to raise the ordinary out of drabness by infusing his compositions with drama. Public Commissions On his return to France from North Africa, he received a number of public commissions such as: the decoration of the Church of St. Denis du Saint Sacrament with a large Pieta ; and fresco painting in the Salon du Roi of the Palais Bourbon (1833-8). These commissions allowed him to paint on a large scale, reminiscent of the masters he admired, such as Rubens and Tintoretto. And his love of Renaissance art led him to paint subjects which had been popular at that time including musicians, religious figures, and trompe l'oeil illusionist murals. But throughout this period he never stopped exhibiting at the Salon.

Among the historical works he painted at this time, with a view to showing them at the Academy, were Medea about to Kill Her Children (1838, Louvre), The Shipwreck of Don Juan (1840, Louvre), The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (1841, Louvre), The Abduction of Rebecca (1846, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), and Michelangelo in His Studio (1849, Musee Fabre, Montpelier). After 1842 he also found fresh themes for his still life painting in the study of nature, and bouquets of flowers - painted mostly at George Sand's house at Nohant. In addition, he displayed Impressionist-like sensitivity in his landscape painting , in works such as The Sea from above Dieppe (1852, Private Collection). Finally, between 1848 and 1861, he produced numerous sketches and paintings of wild animals, such as The Lion Hunt in Morocco (1854, Hermitage, St Petersburg).

Final Works: Decorative Art The last decade of Delacroix's life was marked by three important projects of decorative art ; the central ceiling of the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre (1850), the Salon de la Paix at the Hotel de Ville in Paris - destroyed by fire in 1871 (but see a sketch of the design at the Musee Carnavalet) - and the Chapelle des Saints Anges at the Church of St Sulpice. In 1855 he exhibited 48 paintings at the World Expo in Paris in 1855, and in 1857, on his 8th submission to the Salon , was finally made a full member of the Academy. In 1859, he exhibited at the Salon for the last time, his last works being Ovid among the Scythians (1858, National Gallery, London) and Erminia with the Shepherds (1858, Museum of Art, Stockholm). After this he devoted himself exclusively to the decoration of St Sulpice, which he finished in 1861, after superhuman efforts.

Of the two large compositions that decorate the side-walls of the chapel - Heliodorus Chased from the Temple and Jacob Wrestling with the Angel - the second can be considered as Delacroix's spiritual testament; after it, he was to paint only a few canvases. In 1862 he helped to establish the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, where two societies combined to organise group exhibitions. The writer Theophile Gautier, a longtime friend of Delacroix, chaired the organization and the painter Aime Millet became deputy chairman. Suffering from tuberculosis, Delacroix passed away on 13 August 1863 at his apartment in Paris. He was 65 years old. The Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts held a retrospective of his works later that year, exhibiting over 248 paintings and lithographs. He was hugely prolific during his lifetime, creating over 800 oil paintings, 1500 pastel drawings and watercolour paintings , and nearly 7,000 other drawings. He once said "colour always occupies me, but drawing preoccupies me".

Reputation and Legacy The last of the great masters in the tradition of the Italian High Renaissance by virtue of his taste for large historical, mythological, religious or literary compositions, and his profoundly decorative sense, Delacroix was also among the earliest modern artists . His studies of colours and their complementary qualities as well as his 'ragged' brushwork foreshadowed the coming Impressionism , and, in particular, his recognition that colour must primarily be representational of light, and that shadow is light's coloured reflection, was of special importance to Impressionist painters . In the same way, his tachisme and the violence of his tones paved the way for important movements of modern art , such as Fauvism and Expressionism. A key representative of Romanticism in nineteenth century French painting, his works influenced a wide variety of artists, including the Impressionists Pierre Renoir and Edouard Manet. Edgar Degas even purchased a painting for his private collection. Paintings by Delacroix hang in the best art museums throughout the world, including the Louvre Museum and the Delacroix Museum in Paris.  For more biographies of 19th century French artists, see Famous Painters .

 For information about modernist painting in France, see: Homepage . ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VISUAL ARTISTS Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People (article) | Khan Academy Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People Essay by Dr. Bryan Zygmont. Email Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Poussinists vs.

Rubenists If Jacques-Louis David is the most perfect example of French Neoclassicism, and his most accomplished pupil Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, represents a transitional figure between Neoclassicism and Romanticism, then Eugène Delacroix stands (with, perhaps, Theodore Gericault) as the most representative painter of French romanticism. Left: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Self Portrait at the age of 24, 1804 (Musée Condé); right: Eugène Delacroix, Self-Portrait, c. 1837 (Musée du Louvre) Left: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Self Portrait at the age of 24, 1804 (Musée Condé); right: Eugène Delacroix, Self-Portrait, c. 1837 (Musée du Louvre) French artists in early nineteenth century could be broadly placed into one of two different camps. The Neoclassically trained Ingres led the first group, a collection of artists called the Poussinists (named after the French baroque painter Nicolas Poussin). These artists relied on drawing and line for their compositions.

The second group, the Rubenists (named in honor of the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens), instead elevated color over line. By the time Delacroix was in his mid-20s—that is, by 1823—he was one of the leaders of the ascending French romantic movement. From an early age, Delacroix had received an exceptional education. He attended the Lycée Imperial in Paris, an institution noted for instruction in the Classics. While a student there, Delacroix was recognized for excellence in both drawing and Classics. In 1815—at the age of only 17—he began his formal art education in the studio of Pierre Guérin, a former winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome (Rome Prize) whose Parisian studio was considered a particular hotbed for romantic aesthetics. In fact, Theodore Gericault, who would soon become a romantic superstar with his Raft of the Medusa (1818-19), was still in Guérin’s studio when Delacroix arrived in 1815.

The young artist’s innate skill and his teacher’s able instruction were an excellent match and prepared Delacroix for his formal admission to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (the School of Fine Arts) in 1816. Massacre at Chios: Ripped from the headlines Eugène Delacroix, Scene of the massacre at Chios; Greek families awaiting death or slavery, 1824 Salon, oil on canvas, 164 × 139 inches (419 cm × 354 cm) (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Eugène Delacroix, Scene of the massacre at Chios; Greek families awaiting death or slavery, 1824 Salon, oil on canvas, 164 × 139 inches (419 cm × 354 cm) (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Less than a decade later, Delacroix’s career was clearly on the rise. In 1824, for example, Delacroix exhibited his monumental Massacres at Chios at the annual French Salon. This painting serves as an excellent example of what what Delacroix hoped romanticism could become.

Rather than look to the examples of the classical past for a narrative, Delacroix instead looked to contemporary world events for his subject. This "ripped from the headlines" approach was common for many romantic painters.

Left: Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, oil on canvas, 3.3 x 4.25m, commissioned by Louis XVI, painted in Rome, exhibited at the salon of 1785 (Musée du Louvre); right: Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 1814-15, oil on canvas, 8' 9" x 13' 4" (Museo del Prado, Madrid) Left: Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, oil on canvas, 3.3 x 4.25m, commissioned by Louis XVI, painted in Rome, exhibited at the salon of 1785 (Musée du Louvre); right: Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 1814-15, oil on canvas, 8' 9" x 13' 4" (Museo del Prado, Madrid) Comparing David’s Oath of the Horatii (above, left) with Francisco Goya’s The Third of May, 1808 (above,

 right) is instructive.

Whereas David mined a story from more than 2,500 years ago, Goya instead completed a history painting from the recent past. This chronological immediacy only increased the pathos of Goya’s painting. Female figure (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Scene of the massacre at Chios; Greek families awaiting death or slavery, 1824 Salon, oil on canvas, 164 × 139 inches (419 cm × 354 cm) (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Female figure (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Scene of the massacre at Chios; Greek families awaiting death or slavery, 1824 Salon, oil on canvas, 164 × 139 inches (419 cm × 354 cm) (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Delacroix has upped Goya’s ante in Scene of the massacre at Chios, however, by not only depicting Greek families awaiting death or slavery, but, by also chronicling a catastrophic event from the Greek War of Independence (from the Ottoman Empire) from a far-off location (the small island of Chios is located just off the coast of Turkey).

[Tell me more about the Greek War of Independence] In 1822, tens of thousands of Greeks on the Island of Chios were killed or taken into slavery by the Ottomans during the Greek War of Independence (Greece was then under the control of the Ottoman Empire). In Europe, this conflict took on specific symbolic significance: "In the Greco-Turkish conflict…the French saw no less than Christianity tormented by Islam, and Civilization at grips with Barbarity." (Nina M. Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, French Images from the Greek War of Independence, 1821-1830: Art and Politics Under the Restoration (Yale University Press, 1989), p. 15. When the monumental canvas the Massacre at Chios is viewed from a short distance, it is clear that the artist placed more effort on his use of color, and employed a fluid open brushwork rather than relying on line and a carefully polished painting surface (as the Poussinists were doing). In sum, Massacres at Chios is an eloquent painting to explore when it comes to Delacroix’s commitment to romanticism.

The subject was topical and exotic, and the artist used color and brushwork to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) (photo: Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Many of these same concepts can be seen in what many regard as Delacroix’s masterpiece, Liberty Leading the People (1830). Although Delacroix completed this painting during same year in which the event occurred, it is, at its core, a history painting. Indeed, Delacroix depicts an event from the July Revolution of 1830, an event that replaced the abdicated King Charles X (r.

1824-30)—a member of the Bourbon family and the younger brother of the guillotined King Louis XVI (r. 1774-1792)—with Louis Philippe I (r. 1830-48), the so-called Citizen King. This uprising of 1830 was the historical prelude to the June Rebellion of 1832, an event featured in Victor Hugo’s famous novel, Les Misérables (1862), and the musical (1980) and films that followed. Anyone familiar with Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil’s musical can look at Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People and hear the lyrics of the song that serves as a call to revolution: Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people. Who will not be slaves again.

Liberty (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Liberty (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Liberty Delacroix’s painting, Liberty Leading the People, at first seems to be overpowered by chaos, but on closer inspection, it is a composition filled with subtle order. The first thing a viewer may notice is the monumental—and nude to the waist—female figure. Her yellow dress has fallen from her shoulders, as she holds a bayonetted musket in her left hand and raises the tricolor—the French national flag—with her right. This red, white, and blue arrangement of the flag is mimicked by the attire worn by the man looking up at her.

She powerfully strides forward and looks back over her right shoulder as if to ensure those who she leads are following. Her head is shown in profile—like a ruler on a classical coin—and she wears atop her head a Phrygian cap, a classical signifier of freedom. This is an important bit of costuming—in ancient Rome, freed slaves were given one to wear to indicate their newly liberated status, and this headwear became a symbol of freedom and liberty on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Clearly, this figure is not meant to be a portrait of a specific individual, and Delacroix did not mean to suggest that there was a half-naked woman running around carrying a loaded firearm and a flag during the Trois Glorieuses—the Three Glorious Days as it came to be known—of the July Revolution. Instead, she serves as an allegory—in this instance, a pictorial device intended to reveal a moral or political idea—of Liberty. In this, she is similar to an example familiar to those in the United States, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty (1886).

Clearly, this monumental statue is not a portrait of a woman named Liberty who wears a Roman toga, carries a torch, and an inscribed tablet. Instead, she represents an idea. The same is true of Delacroix’s painted Liberty. A revolution for everyone But if the female figure represents an allegory, those who surround her represent different types of people. The man on the far left holds a briquet (an infantry saber commonly used during the Napoleonic Wars). His clothing—apron, working shirt, and sailor’s trousers—identify him as a factory worker, a person in the lower end of the economic ladder. His other attire identifies his revolutionary leanings. The handkerchief around his waist, that secures a pistol, has a pattern similar to that of the Cholet handkerchief, a symbol used by François Athannase de Charette de la Contrie, a Royalist solider who led an ill-fated uprising against the First Republic, the government established as a result of the French Revolution. The white cockade and red ribbon secured to his beret also identify his revolutionary sensibilities.

Two figures at left (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Two figures at left (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) This factory worker provides a counterpoint to the younger man beside him who is clearly of a different economic status. He wears a black top hat, an open-collared white shirt and cravat, and an elegantly tailored black coat. Rather than hold a military weapon like his older brother-in-arms, he instead grasps a hunting shotgun. These two figures make clear that this revolution is not just for the economically downtrodden, but for those of affluence, too.

Left: fallen adolescent, and right, Boy wielding two pistols (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Left: fallen adolescent, and right, Boy wielding two pistols (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) This revolution is not only for the adults—two young boys can be identified among the insurgents. On the left, a fallen adolescent who wears a light infantry bicorne and holds a short saber, struggles to regain his footing amongst the piled cobblestones that make up a barricade. The more famous of the pair, however, is on the right side of the painting (image, right).

Often thought to be the visual inspiration for Hugo’s character of Gavroche in Les Misérables, this boy wildly wields two pistols. He wears a faluche—a black velvet beret common to students—and carries what appears to be a school or cartridge satchel (with a crest that may be embroidered) across his body. A modern subject With no less than five guns and three blades among these six primary figures, it is not surprising that the ground is littered with the dead. Some are members of the military, note the uniform decorated with shoulder epaulettes on the figure in the lower right, while others are likely revolutionaries. In total, the painting accurately renders the fervor and chaos of urban conflict. And it is, of course, an urban conflict. Notre Dame, perhaps the defining architectural monument of Paris (at least until the Eiffel Tower arrived at the end of the nineteenth century) can be clearly seen on the right side of the painting. Importantly, Delacroix signed and dated his painting immediately underneath this monument.

Paris (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Paris (detail), Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas, September - December, 1830 (exhibited and purchased by the state from the Salon of 1831) 2.6 x 3.25m (Louvre, Paris) Although not everyone can pick up a weapon and stand a post in a war, Delacroix would have us believe that everyone can be a revolutionary. When corresponding with his brother on 28 October 1830—less than three months after the July Revolution, Delacroix wrote, “I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have fought for my country, at least I shall have painted for her. It has restored my good spirits.” In doing so, Delacroix completed what has become both a defining image of French romanticism and one of the most enduring modern images of revolution.

It has even been appropriated—although slightly altered—by the British rock band Coldplay as an album cover for their 2006 release Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Essay by Dr. Bryan Zygmont Additional resources: Liberty Leading the People - Eugène Delacroix Fine Art Print Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) Period: Romanticism Delacroix was the leader of the French Romantic movement in painting. He was willing to shock with strong subject matter and vigorous style which he often did. He chose big romantic subjects where the underlying theme is heightened emotion. For him, the color was the main means of expression. In Delacroix’s paintings there is no specific point of focus – what keeps the eye moving is the use of color and light. He also really loved rich materials and texture. He was much inspired by Rubens‘ use of color and his loose brushwork as well as by the landscapes of John Constable.

Key artwork: Liberty leading the people, 1830 Additional Information Size 50×40 cm (20″W x 16″H), 75×60 cm (30″W x 24″H), 100×80 cm (40″W x 30″H) Frame Thickness Eugene Delacroix - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Eugene Delacroix Taurus Artist#26 About French Romantic artist and lithographer who most famously painted "Liberty Leading the People" in 1830 and influenced the Impressionists. Before Fame He began his neoclassical artistic training with Pierre-Narcisse Guerin in 1815. Four years later, he was commissioned to paint his early work "The Virgin of the Harvest" by a local church. Trivia His use of color and brushstrokes influenced the development of French Impressionism, and the thematic content of his work similarly inspired the Symbolist movement. Family Life He grew up as the son of Victoire Oeben and Charles-François Delacroix.

However, he was likely the biological child of the renowned French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who remained Delacroix's artistic patron throughout his career.

Question: Which French Romantic artist painted "Liberty Leading The People" in 1830?
Answer: Eugene Delacroix